ALA Interns Program

The internship program began in 1988. Initiated by the ALA Membership Committee, it was designed to provide an avenue for interested members to become more easily involved in ALA activities and to introduce new people and ideas to ALA committee discussions and decision-making. The hope is that the experience gained by the interns will aid their official appointment on an association committee.

Internship Program Guidelines:

Who can be appointed as an intern?
Any member who has never held an appointment or elected office in the Association can be appointed as an intern.

Who appoints interns?
Interns will be appointed by the ALA President-Elect. Names of possible interns will be forwarded to the ALA President-Elect by individuals, committee chairs, and others.

Which committees can have interns?
All ALA committees may have interns. It is voluntary for a committee. The intern position is an extra membership slot on the committee.

Terms of appointment.
Each intern will serve for a period of one or two years. After a two-year period, the intern should not be appointed to another ALA committee as an intern. Successful interns should be considered by the ALA President-Elect as candidates for appointment as members of ALA committee. Service as an intern is not counted in accumulating the four years of maximum consecutive served on a committee.

Duties.
The committee chair will determine the most appropriate duties for the intern for the intern on a specific committee. Duties will be depend in large part on the nature of the work of a particular committee. An intern should participate fully in the work of the committee to which she/he is appointed.

Voting.
The committee will determine the voting status of the intern.

Travel.
If the committee meets outside of the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference, the committee will determine if the intern will attend the meeting.

Attendance at Meetings.
An intern is expected to attend both the Midwinter Meeting and the Annual Conference committee meetings.